Trapped in my own head

You called me worthless, 
ignored my efforts 
like they didn’t matter, 
never stopping to ask 
why I was so tired. 

You called me lazy, 
but did you see 
how hard it was 
to keep going? 
How many nights I spent 
fighting to stay strong? 

You called me incapable, 
but was it my failure, 
or your refusal 
to see the little things 
I tried so hard to do? 

Now, I push myself 
to prove you wrong, 
to show I’m not 
the person you said I was. 

I skip my meals, 
lose my sleep, 
work until I can’t stand. 
Why? 
Because all I wanted 
was for you to see me, 
to love me, 
and to tell me I’m enough. 

But even now, 
as I break myself 
trying to fix your view of me, 
I wonder— 
would you even care?